.jpg)
Sign for the viewing area
There are very few mysteries of the natural world left unexplained today. However, the Marfa Lights still remain an unsolved mystery, open for your imagination or logic to ponder the possibilities of Indian ghosts, St. Elmo’s fire or a more logical combination of geological occurrences.
This is the Chihuahua Desert that has many memories of land feuds and Indian wars. Records indicate that the mystery of the Marfa Lights began as early as 1840, when wagon trains traveling west through the Mitchell Flats reported these bizarre lights.
In southwestern Texas, the Chisos (Ghost Spirit) Mountains are a relatively isolated area. Just north of these mountains, the small town of Marfa, Texas continues to exist. Marfa is situated on the caprock escarpment of the Trans-Pecos area of the Texas-Mexico border. In this high desert, the nights are dark and the air is crisp, a perfect setting for the unexplained multi-colored lights that appear this area every night.
The first “official” reporting of the lights was in 1883. Robert Ellison stated that he saw the lights while camped at the base of the Paisano Pass. Thinking that they were the evening campfires of the Apache Indians, he and his men prepared to protect themselves. The next day they traveled to where they thought they saw the lights coming from, finding nothing. No sign of Indians. No footprints or smothered campfires. Nothing.
Bouncing, flickering and changing colors, the Marfa Lights are a unique experience that can be pondered by any of us on any given evening. The lights are commonly seen from the Mitchell Flats. A viewing area was been built along highway 90, about 9 miles east of Marfa.
Campfires stories all over the Southwest tell tales of glowing souls of Indian warriors. The most common story is full of betrayal, murder and treachery. The tale states that several Apache warriors left camp for a few days to hunt, returning only to find their wives and children slaughtered by Spanish explorers. The legend tells us that the Apache warriors still pass through the Mitchell Flats searching for their lost loved ones.
Searching internet will divulge many individual tales of close encounters with the Marfa Lights and just as many theories to explain them. As the stories and theories continue to cultivate and multiply, the mystery of the Marfa Lights continues to astonish and mystify locals and travelers alike.
So, take a ride to Marfa, Texas and enjoy the beauty of the high deserts of the Big Bend region and the mountains of the Fort Davis area, but don’t forget to gaze out over the Mitchell Flats in the evening and ponder their origins.
For more info:
Handbook of Texas – Marfa Lights (website)
Hunting Marfa Lights (paperback)
The Marfa Lights: A Real American Mystery: Article from Skeptoid.com
Marfa Lights Research (This webpage isn’t very aesthetically appealing, but has some awesome pictures and information)
View The Unusual Adventurer's Map of America in a larger map
|
Comments